College athletes to cast historic union vote

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern University’s football players will cast ballots Friday on whether to form the nation’s first union for college athletes — a potentially landmark vote that will be kept sealed for months and possibly years.

The National Labor Relations Board said Thursday it will hear an appeal by Northwestern challenging the decision from a regional NLRB director who ruled the players are university employees and thus have the right to unionize. The board said the ballots will be impounded at least until it issues its decision later this year. If the case lands in court, it could be a far longer time before the results of the vote are known.

The vote comes one day after leaders at the NCAA endorsed a dramatic proposal to give its biggest and most powerful member schools the autonomy to make decisions for its athletes, including more robust funding of scholarships, the ability to address health concerns and other key areas. Union supporters say they are seeking guaranteed coverage of sports-related medical expenses for current and former players.

There have been no raucous rallies or demonstrations on the 19,000-student campus just north of Chicago, just official notices about the vote posted near the Wildcats’ locker room. But there has been plenty of lobbying in the form of private meetings, calls and emails, and everyone from coach Pat Fitzgerald to NCAA President Mark Emmert has called for a “no” vote.

The 76 scholarship football players eligible to cast ballots know the spotlight is on them, said Ramogi Huma, president of the College Athletes Players Association, which would represent the players at the bargaining table if the pro-union side prevails.

Some of the pressure they feel stems from dire Northwestern claims about the consequences of unionization, he said.

“They’re looking at anything and everything to invoke fear in the players,” said Huma, a former UCLA linebacker and longtime critic of the NCAA. “We feel like some of the tactics are scare tactics.”

Northwestern, which is required by law to let the vote proceed, denies applying undue pressure on players to vote “no.” However, it recently sent a 21-page question-and-answer document to the players outlining the problems with forming a union. In it, the university said it hoped unionization would not lead to player strikes in the event of a dispute — but if it did, replacement players could be brought in to cross picket lines.

“The tension created in such a situation would be unprecedented and not in anyone’s best interest,” it said.

The school also said divisions could emerge between scholarship players eligible for union membership and walk-ons, coaches and staff.